Jersey City man who drowned at Bradley Beach is identified

Google MapsJohn Ongaki, 24, of Jersey City drowned off the shore of the Brinley Avenue Beach at Bradley Beach last night.

The Jersey City man who drowned in the Atlantic Ocean off Bradley Beach last night had only arrived at the beach with friends about five minutes earlier, police said today.

John H. Ongaki, 24, of Randolph Avenue, was pronounced dead at 6:48 p.m. at Jersey Shore University Medical Center after slipping beneath the waves on the Brinley Avenue Beach an hour earlier, said Bradley Beach Police Chief Len Guida, who released Ongaki's name today.

Police said he went into the water in an area unprotected by lifeguards.

"You cannot respect the ocean enough -- you can't," Guida said. "People should not be swimming on unprotected beaches," said the chief, adding that life guards in Bradley Beach are on hand only on weekends for now and do not go on full-time until next month.

Witnesses said minutes after the group arrived at the beach Ongaki went into the water with a young woman behind him, Guida said.

"They saw him go under water and not come up," Guida said, adding that police were called to the scene at 5:57 p.m. and the U.S. Coast Guard, lifeguards, emergency medical technicians and a water rescue team responded.

Four rescue swimmers were searching the area where Ongaki went down on the south side of a jetty when people on the beach spotted him on the north side, Guida said. The chief and a rescue swimmer dove in and found Ongaki tumbling in the surf about 25 yards offshore and dragged him to the beach with the help of others, Guida said.

EMTs started CPR immediately and Ongaki was rushed to the hospital where CPR was continued until he was pronounced dead, Guida said. The chief said he was told Ongaki could swim.